The hills will be alive with the sound of football. Saturday, all three Vermont college football teams are at home.
That’s something that does not happen all that often. Even more unusual, all three opponents come down from Maine.
Vermont State University Castleton kicks the day off by hosting the University of New England at noon at Dave Wolk Stadium.
One hour later, just a short drive up Route 30, Bowdoin and Middlebury will try to bounce back after opening the season with losses last week.
Then at 2 p.m., Norwich University will look to end its long drought by ambushing Maine Maritime, a team restarting its football program after a hiatus.
Amidst an early foliage season, tailgating and football will liven up autumn with fans in Rutland having to make a choice.
Rutland High graduate Slade Postemski will be a wide receiver for Bowdoin in the game at Middlebury. Castleton boasts a 2-0 record and is in a showdown with UNE, another 2-0 team. Two short drives with a chance to see something memorable. Tough choice.
Bowdoin has a few Vermonters on the roster and two of them are Vermont high school Gatorade Player of the Year recipients — Postemski and Jackson Sumner.
Sumner played at CVU and the Brooks School but, like Postemski, he has a Rutland area connection. Jackson’s father Sandy Sumner was an outstanding receiver at Poultney High School.
Postemski is a senior so this will be his final game on Vermont soil. He would love to make it a special memory.
Another item making the choice for Rutland area fans a difficult one is that Castleton’s game against UNE is Homecoming.
Norwich’s game against Maine Maritime is also Homecoming and there are few Division III venues in the country that have the pageantry that Norwich, the oldest private military college in the nation, puts out there.
“The atmosphere is going to be fantastic,” Norwich coach Bill Russell said.
VTSU Castleton has an imposing defensive challenge against UNE. The Nor’easters offense scores in bushels. The defeated Coast Guard 56-49 in overtime and last week smothered WPI 41-3 by amassing 24 points in the fourth quarter.
One key for the Spartans will be controlling the ball and keeping that prolific University of New England offense off the field as much as possible.
They will have to exercise that ball control without their top running back Lou Guillotte, a transfer from the University of New Haven. He was injured last week against Norwich and will be held out for his one.
“We have a bye the next week and then I think he will be ready to go for the conference schedule,” VTSU Castleton coach Tyler Higley said.
The Spartans do have other good backs Mike Flores, Josh Colegrove and Jamison Couture.
“This is a great opportunity for those guys,” Higley said.
They get to run behind an offensive line comprised of Joe Medrano, Caleb Russell, Charlie McMahon, Quan Johnson and Alex Simon that has been impressive over the first two games.
“There was a lot of movement up front,” said Higley of the O-line’s performance against Norwich.
Linebacker Deacon Schneider leads the Castleton defense in tackles with 19. Isaiah Oufiero and Alex Polli also have double-digit tackles as they try to contain this UNE offense that has already scored 97 points in two weeks.
“Ryan Duclos flies under the radar. He is disruptive in the backfield and has a great ability to get off the ball. When he doesn’t make the tackle, he sets it up for the linebacker,” Higley said of his defensive lineman.
The challenge is complicated by the fact the team from Biddeford, Maine can move the ball through the air as well as on the ground.
“Their quarterback (Chris Lang) is an older guy and he really makes good decisions,” Higley said.
Lang threw for 320 yards and two touchdowns last week.
“It will be about ball control and taking advantage of the opportunities when we get in the red zone,” Higley said.
Maine Maritime is restarting football after a hiatus and its return to play was not a lot of fun last week, a 56-7 loss to Hartwick.
“I am sure that they are looking at us as an opportunity to get a win,” Russell said.
Despite the thrashing at the hands of Hartwick, Russell says the Mariners have some good players. The Maine native would know. He attempted to recruit a number of them.
Landon Beecher gave the Cadets a spark at Castleton when he replaced starting quarterback Aidan Sulllivan. Beecher will get the start against Maine Maritime.
“I think both will have to contribute in some way if we are to win,” Russell said.
Norwich’s Henri Bourque, a receiver from nearby Stevens High in Claremont, New Hampshire, was the main target at Castleton with six catches for 81 yards.
“Henri is a big time player for us and very reliable. He is a great kid,” Russell said.
“He was our quarterback as a sophomore when we won the state championship in 2016,” said Paul Silva, a Stevens coach.
Bourque was also determined to play college football and finally found a home at Norwich after starting out at Merrimack and then getting into a couple of games at Framingham State.
“I am ecstatic that Henri has finally gotten a chance to play at the college level and earn a starting role. He has worked extremely hard to get this opportunity and I love seeing him enjoy the success he deserves,” Silva said.
“And to earn that role playing a different position, at the college level, tells you a lot about Henri’s character and work ethic. So happy for him.”
The Cadets have lost 18 straight games.
“Everyone is feeling the pressure,” Russell said.
A victory enveloped in a grand Homecoming atmosphere, would go a long way to extinguishing that pressure.
QUICK KICKS: Dartmouth opens its season on Saturday at 1 p.m. when 2-1 New Hampshire visits Buddy Teevens Stadium. UNH’s only loss is to FBS program Ball State, 34-29. … Hartford graduate Brayden Trombly has the only interception of the season for 1-1 Husson University.
